Company Fined for Fatal Indiana Twp. Oil/Gas Well Blast

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
26 October 2010

The state Department of Environmental Protection announced today that it has imposed a $32,000 penalty against Huntley & Huntley Inc. of Monroeville, for the July 23 tank explosion at a gas well in which two people died.

The civil penalty is part of a consent order and agreement to resolve violations of the Oil and Gas Act and the Solid Waste Management Act, according to a news release.

An oil storage tank at a company gas well site in Indiana Township exploded, releasing small amounts of oil and other liquids and causing the well head and nearby production facilities to catch fire. The tank that exploded was propelled into the air, landing about 150 feet away.

Killed were Andy Yosurack Jr., 56, of Creekside, Indiana County, and Kevin Henry, 46, of New Florence. They were employees of Northeast Energy Management Inc. of Indiana, Pa., who were performing welding repairs on the 210-barrel oil storage tank.

Northeast Energy Management was under contract to perform the repairs.

DEP Secretary John Hanger said Huntley & Huntley led a prompt and effective emergency response by marshalling local fire, emergency management and industry response teams to the scene and flying in a specialty well control company from Texas the day of the accident. These actions, he said in the release, helped to limit the environmental impact of the explosion and return the site to a safe condition.

Huntley & Huntley today issued a statement noting that the county fire marshal concluded the accident was caused by the two Northeast Energy Management employees.

Although Huntley officials deny the company itself caused any violations, "solely to avoid the expense and distraction of litigation with the DEP, Huntley has agreed to reimburse the department's out-of-pocket costs of approximately $7,000 and pay a penalty of $25,000. The company is in the process of seeking reimbursement for the full $32,000" from the contractor.

Separate from the settlement, Huntley also announced it will establish and fund a safety program to enhance training for emergency responders involved in potential natural gas well and pipeline incidents.

"We remain saddened for the loss of Kevin Henry and Andrew Yosurack, and continue to keep their families in our prayers," said President Keith Mangini. "We intend to dedicate this training program in the honor and memory of Kevin and Andrew in an effort to continually improve safety at all aspects of oil and natural gas operations in this region."